The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a ruling that a defendant contractually waived his Fifth Amendment due process right to challenge personal jurisdiction in an "agreed" forum by executing the plaintiff’s form agreement, which included a forum selection clause on the back. Monsanto Co. v. McFarling, No. 01-1390, 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 17588 (Fed. Cir. August 23, 2002).
Monsanto licensed certain patented seed to manufacturers and to farmers pursuant to a "Technology Agreement" that contained, among various terms and conditions on its reverse, a forum selection clause. Monsanto filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, charging the defendant, an individual farmer, with patent infringement and breach of the agreement. McFarling appeared to contest the Missouri court’s jurisdiction over him, arguing that he purchased, planted and harvested the seeds and executed the agreement in Mississippi. The district court denied McFarling’s
